kids will have fun hunting for great shots, and learn about digital photography along the way.

Revisit the basics
Before sending your group off on a photography adventure, give them a quick refresher on techniques. Review how to turn the camera on, how to hold a camera while shooting, and how to make sure the camera took the intended photo. Also teach them how to view their photos from the camera's memory.

Set the territory
Nature is everywhere: public parks, your own backyard, or even along city streets. Determine where your little scavengers are going to roam, and set clear location boundaries-making sure to emphasize safety.

Whether it is your back porch, a giant oak tree, or the steps of city hall, select a single starting point for all participants.

State the rules
Be clear about the rules. Instruct them to work alone or in teams. Decide if they can consult others during the game and let them know if they can shoot more than one image of each target.

Have all scavengers start together, and designate a time and spot to gather when they finish. Each child can share their photos either right from the camera's memory or by downloading images to your PC or printer. Tally up the points, and state the winner.

Create the targets
Pick several colorful, fun, kid friendly targets with a few challenging ones to keep them engaged. Choose about 10-15 objects that one might find in the chosen territory. Consider the season, the time of day, and the environment.

once you've selected the targets, assign each item value based on how difficult finding and shooting it might be. For example, a blade of grass might only be 5 points, while a butterfly might be worth 40. Print a list of targets and their values for each player.

Suggested photo challenges
Be sure to devise your list of targets to expand young minds as well as entertain them. Here's how:

Get close: choose something like a flower or insect that challenges kids with close-up photography.

Catch action: have scavengers learn what happens when they shoot a moving object, such as a dog running or a person on a bike.

Lighting: ask kids to capture a shadow or a ray of sunlight, to allow them to experiment with how to shoot in different lighting.